Break
by Azurite
Summary: [ONESHOT] In a single moment, everything can change. How do you know when to break free? [implied Revolutionshipping]


Break  
A Yu-Gi-Oh Oneshot  
By Azurite - azurite AT fanfiction DOT net  
azurite DOT incandesce DOT org

**First Written:** 12/7/04

**She Jumped Ship:** Ah, I believe I was inspired for this in a dream I had last night. Strange, no? Well, you'll have to read and see. But as a forewarning, this is a ONESHOT (read: will not be continued in the foreseeable future) and is also implied Revolutionshipping (Yami no Yuugi x Anzu). Man, I'm just all over the map with my pairings, no? I'm the diehard Azureshipper (Seto x Anzu), but I also enjoy Persevereshipping (Otogi x Anzu), Faultshipping (Seto x Anzu x Mokuba), Peachshipping (Yuugi x Anzu), and probably a few others I'm forgetting... ;;

**Spoilers** for the end of the Yu-Gi-Oh Manga, volume 38, last battle... all that fun stuff.

* * *

_Don't let him go._

She felt Jounouchi's hand on her shoulder. Jounouchi wasn't a heavy-set guy by any measure, but at that particular moment, his hand felt like a lead-weight, holding her down. Pinning her. Trapping her.

_He'll be gone forever._

Her eyes darted back and forth-- there was an amazing burst of white-gold light, and Yuugi's shadow as he fell to his knees.

_Break free._

The duel was over. Yuugi had won, and that could only mean one thing--

_'Don't leave me.'_

But he was going to. He was meant to, and the cold, biting truth of this suddenly hit Anzu Mazaki in the face with a force stronger than a sandstorm, a tidal wave, or gravity itself. She'd known all along, and just lied to herself...

_'Let me go!'_

And with a strength borne of fear and desperation, Anzu wrenched her shoulder free from Jounouchi's grip and dashed forward, heedless of the cries of those behind her. She didn't hear Sugoroku and Otogi call her name in unison; she missed Jounouchi and Honda cry out "Stop!" Bakura, newly freed from the darker half that had possessed him for so long, said nothing.

Had she dared to turn around and meet his gaze, she would have seen only understanding. As if, for the first time in many years, they shared a true and silent connection-- that he knew, he accepted... and she should go and do what she had to, because this was her last chance.

But she didn't look-- she just ran.

"Atemu!"

Not 'Yuugi.'

It had been hard enough, registering that, the first time. She couldn't bring herself to call him 'The Other Yuugi' most of the time anyway-- not like Jounouchi and Honda did. When they'd discovered the Pharaoh's true name in Dark Bakura's role-playing game, she'd whispered it softly-- and felt an overwhelming sense of rightness, of belonging.

This was **his** name, his **true** name. Now, he wasn't just an attachment of Yuugi...

Within her, feelings separated and drew apart. There were those feelings she'd always had for Yuugi --her best friend in the whole world. Endless devotion and concern. Constant worry. A laughing sense of humor when it came to his slight childlike naivete, or his lack thereof in his attempts to be more like Jounouchi and Honda.

And then there were her feelings for Atemu. No matter how much she rationalized, or spent sleepless nights thinking about it, they only grew stronger by the day. Those feelings were...

_'I love you. But you know that, right?'_

She didn't see Yuugi look up, his already tear-filled eyes widen in horror as Anzu dashed past him and into the closing breach of light.

There was a reason that realm was sealed off with the mystical Eye of Horus-- a reason why it could only be opened after the seven Millennium Items were brought together at last.

Only one was meant to pass through those gates, and yet...

_'What is this... feeling?'_

It was as though she were being lifted off her feet, and pulled into the light, the warmth. She saw Atemu turn around, a strange expression on his face. It wasn't surprise or joy or anger. It was just... him.

That was all that mattered.

Those amazing red-violet eyes...

Anzu disappeared into the light with Atemu, nine pairs of eyes watching as his clothes melted from Yuugi's Domino High uniform into the regal attire of a Pharaoh.

Eight shadows waited for them-- six of them the guardians of the Millennium Items from ages of yore, the other two the former pharaoh Akunamkanon and his servant Shimon. They'd been waiting for so long...

_'And so have I.'_

A single bracelet from Anzu's wrist clattered to the ground, and then the doors slammed shut.

Everyone present gaped in horror and astonishment-- she was gone. They'd all known Atemu would have to go, but... Anzu?

Not even Isis, with her powers of precognition, could have predicted it.

Only a few seconds passed, but it could have been an eternity, and then the catacombs trembled. Blocks began to fall from the ceiling, while ancient pillars wobbled. The entire temple was crumbling in on itself-- and there was no time for second-guessing or return-trips. The ground beneath the sacred tomb shook wildly, and then the Millennium Items fell into blackness-- never to be seen again.

Never...

_'Everyone... I've broken free, at last. You understand, right? Of course. You're my friends. And you know, at the end of the day...'_

She was so light.

And free.

This was... where she was meant to be, at last. She'd found that happiness that had eluded her so deftly in life.

Warmth... and red-violet eyes.

_'I have all that I need.'_

* * *


End file.
